The Battle for Waziristan has begun

[Farnan]

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...peration-ha-01

An Analysis:

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archiv...hat_lies_a.php

Let's support the Pakistanis in this endeavor and hope this is only the beginning of the destruction of Taliban and allied forces in Pakistan.

[Eien]

God bless the operation to be a success

[Visna]

I'm not overly sure of the ability of the Pakistan military to do this, especially before winter sets in, but best of luck.

[Pickle_mole]

This is excellent! i saw the report on BBC and it showed a breakdown of numbers;
Pakistan army: Two divisions totalling 28,000 soldiers
Frontier Corp: Paramilitary forces from tribal areas likely to support army
Taliban militants: Estimated between 10,000 and 20,000
Uzbek fighters supporting Taliban: Estimates widely vary between 500-5,000

So it seems like a tough fight ahead but than again Taliban doesnt have near the heavy support Pakistan does so we will see if this escelates in size of arms. Good luck pakistan!

[Holger Danske]

I'm not overly sure of the ability of the Pakistan military to do this, especially before winter sets in, but best of luck.

I'm pretty sure they can achieve their overall goals, but like you I doubt they will be very effective at it (as in minimal civilian casualties and losses on their own side)

SonOfOdin
So you say that GWB should had invaded Pakistan?...

[Mangalore]

God bless the operation to be a success

Well, they declared the last one a success so I bet this one will be one either. The problem are not the successes but the amount of them. I would consider it a better sign if they had none after this one. It would indicate they don't get screwed after turning their heads...

[motiv-8]

Inshallah.

[Wilder]

Inshallah.

indeed.

[JP226]

I wouldn't expect the to be able to operate a potato gun effectively much less drive out the taliban.

Yes, it is. It is also on the TWC censor list. -Pønti

[Dodge]

Is pak--is a bad word?

Yes.

[Nikos]

Very good news! Pakistan is finally stepping up! Hopefully the Pakistani army is capable of handling the operation. This leads me to a possible danger of this operation. If the Taliban some how manage to repel the Pakistani military, this will be a major blow to Pakistani morale and perhaps cause doubts in the Pakistani population about their current Government's ability to keep them safe. A Pakistani failure will also be a Major PR victory for the Taliban, and will result in thousands of new recruits and millions of dollars of new funding.

With the Taliban knowing the terrain and having good defensive positions in the mountains, the Pakistani army is going to have it's hands full.

[JP226]

Here I was thinking it ws akin to saying Brit. Then again I live on the other side of the world.

[Påsan]

Good luck, but I don’t have high hopes. The Pakistani military have a history of poor morale and organizational problems, and they are going up against some of the most devoted Taliban maniacs on their home ground.

Mountain fighting is tough, and above all - takes time to do properly, so don’t expect a blitz or any quick results.

[Azog 150]

I was expecting more soldiers then 29,000 to launch an operation into this area- especially seeing as their is thought to be at least 10,000 highly devoted Taliban fighting on their home turf, plus a good deal of the population of this province is pro-Taliban.

Still, they do have the advantage of air and artillery power, plus US Drone Strikes.

I don't really know what to expect from this offensive, but lets hope the Pakistanis can pull it off. One thing is for sure, this will probably shape up to be by far the bloodiest battle in the 'War on Terror' so far.

[Central Asian Qaghan]

A glorious day for Pakistan. Lets show these ineffectual ISAF and NATO forces how to finish it. It won`t take us 8 years thats for sure.

And I would check your numbers. More than 30,000 soldiers are performing in this cleaning drive.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/...peration-ha-01

[Farnan]

Though I disagree with your criticism of ISAF, but I hope your right and the Pakistani Military destroys the Taliban.

[Påsan]

A glorious day for Pakistan. Lets show these ineffectual ISAF and NATO forces how to finish it. It won`t take us 8 years thats for sure.

It would not take us 4 years and cost us 3 humiliating defeats to remove an extremist group from our own bloody country either.
That the Taliban has allowed staying in a supposedly stable country like Pakistan for this long is a disgrace. This is a long to late attempt to do something about it, but don’t get your hopes up.

[SonOfOdin]

Everything is possible in war
At least Pakistan(FINALLY!!!) is doing something about those terrorists lurking in the mountains
Much more of a "War on Terrorism" than Bush ever did

[Babur]

they should also root out the terrorists in Punjab too,then I feel there will be progress.

[Yaga Shu Ra]

Let's support the Pakistanis in this endeavor and hope this is only the beginning of the destruction of Taliban and allied forces in Pakistan.

Don't get your hopes up, their previous all out offensive against the Taliban, about four months ago, didn't pan out too well.